Moon Over Willoughby
by scbelleva
Summary: Everyone has secrets they want to keep hidden but what happens when Frank Blanchard knows one of yours? Bass, Charlie and Miles are about to find out. For the goodshipcharloe's Summer Lovin' fic event.
1. Chapter 1

The courthouse was busy today. It was traveling judge week in Willoughby which meant party time for the locals. In a post blackout world, you looked for entertainment where you could get it, and although there were never any truly serious crimes in Willoughby, you could always count on some fun when the judge came to town.

"Guilty as charged. I sentence you to community service helping to create a town farm to supply vegetables for the new market." Grateful that he hadn't been thrown in jail for 'borrowing' supplies from a local merchant to fix up an abandoned shack for his family, the farmer nodded his head and moved to the back of the room.

Folks were enjoying this judge. Nobody had known what to expect when Frank Blanchard had unexpectedly shown up saying that he would be handling cases today. Why would the President of Texas do something so clearly beneath the workings of his office? What they were being treated to was a reasonable person who was passing sentences that were helping them rebuild and grow their town.

"Sebastian Monroe, you are called to the stand." Bass grimaced and stood up as he made his way to the front ignoring the murmurs of the people staring at the former General. Nobody knew he was here today so there were no supportive words of encouragement as he moved to stand in front of Blanchard.

Frank Blanchard grinned down at Bass from behind the judge's desk. Bass knew he wasn't going to like whatever was coming.

"Sebastian Monroe, you are charged with rabble rousing and disturbing the peace after 11 p.m. on a weeknight. How do you plead?"

"Seriously, Frank? You know I was helping Betty remove drunks from her bar."

"So you plead guilty?"

"If trying to help someone keep her property from being destroyed, then fuck it. I guess I'm guilty."

Bass was getting angrier by the minute with this trumped up charge. When Rangers had shown up at his doorway the morning after this incident, he honestly thought Miles had sent them as a joke. Apparently, the joke was on him. Frank Blanchard wanted something from him, and he was about to find out what it was.

"Then I find you guilty as charged and sentence you to community service. To atone for your crime against the citizens of Willoughby, you will help beautify the town square by painting a tasteful mural promoting community values."

Laughter immediately erupted behind him as the townspeople started discussing the opportunity to watch a humiliated Sebastian Monroe painting stick figures on the side of a wall. Bass looked at Blanchard in disbelief. Surely, he had heard that incorrectly.

The banging of the gavel and Frank Blanchard's booming voice commanding everyone to settle down brought some order back in the room. Looking back at Bass, the rest of the sentence was meted out.

"You are to attend art school for a period of no less than six months to build the skills necessary to carry out the rest of your sentence. A spot has been reserved for you in Miss Pansy Pettigrew's School of Culture and Etiquette in Austin. Class starts next week. Court is adjourned for the day."

Fists clenched, Bass glared at Frank with a look that had others scrambling to get out of his way as he stalked out of the courtroom. Had that been a sparkle in Frank's eyes? How the hell did he even know Bass could draw, let alone paint something as big as a mural? It was a secret Bass had never told anyone. When the fighting was intense and he needed to forget, he hadn't always done it with a bottle or a warm body. Miles always thought Bass would turn down whiskey to get laid or vice versa…and that did happen…but there were times when Bass needed something else.

Some people wrote in a journal; Bass drew in one. Scrounging around on their travels, Bass had managed to accumulate an impressive array of water colors and art pencils. Always kept tucked deep in his pack, Bass would sneak away from camp or wait until everyone was asleep during his watch, and then pull out his treasured pencils, paints and brushes to help put down on paper the memories of happier times. His was a natural gift, and a private one. Art let him escape the tragedies and horrors that life had thrown at him early on and again later when General Monroe was released on the world. It was the one thing that had kept him grounded enough to eventually start to find his way back to a little bit of humanity. There was no way Frank Blanchard could have known that.

* * *

Author's Note: A huge thank you to Lemon Supreme for reviewing this story, offering constructive advice, and helping an inexperienced writer bring emotional weight to a couple of key scenes. I couldn't figure out what was missing, but she knew right away, and this story is better for it.


	2. Chapter 2

"Almost there….almost there…almost there…." The thought kept going around in his head. Seriously, what was he doing here? Thankful that tonight was the last night of class and that it was nudes…finally….Bass started setting up his station. He would never admit it but this art class had been just what he needed - an outlet for the frustrations he was experiencing as the need to remove the last of the Patriots was slowing down.

Hearing a rustle in front of him as he put the last of his brushes down, he knew tonight's model had arrived. He only hoped it wasn't a man (no inspiration there) or an unattractive female. Yes, he realized it was sexist to think that way but, hey, that's what makes the world go round, right?

"This evening, we will be doing a study of nudes. The human body can be incredibly beautiful and inspiring. It can also bring out feelings and thoughts you didn't realize you had. You may think you're here to paint a naked body tonight, and for those of you without a true artist's soul, please keep your trashy thoughts to yourself, but if you allow yourself to experience the true form, its shapes and shadows, I think you will surprise yourselves with your creations. Because we're a fairly compact community, we try to preserve the anonymity of our models who so graciously give of themselves. You will not be able to see our model's face. Concentrate only on the form."

"What a prick," thought Bass yet again as he waited for the model to disrobe. Mr. Rodney was the one thing Bass would definitely not miss about this class. A little concerned that the instructor hadn't given them any clue as to the sex of their model, Bass mentally started to run through a list of things he wanted to do to Frank Blanchard as soon as his 'sentence' was over. Only a few hours stood between him and completion of the first part of his sentence.

"You may begin."

The words jolted Bass out of his haze and he leaned around his canvas to take a look at whatever tonight had in store. Stunned, he forgot to breathe as he was confronted with the sexiest backside he had ever seen. As his eyes traveled from the model's neck where a few ribbons of swirling gold had escaped from captivity, down the gentle curve of her back, over two wondrous globes that had him immediately salivating and wanting to take a bite, to sinewy, gently muscled legs, Bass forced himself to take a raspy breath. His suddenly uncomfortable jeans coincided with the thought, "What the hell…Miles is the ass man, not me." In his opinion, they had obviously saved the best for last and what a way to finish up!

* * *

"Almost there….almost there….almost there…" The mantra played over and over again in Charlie's mind as she slipped off the black silk robe provided for tonight's job. After order had been restored and the country was back on track, Charlie had been happy for the chance to keep working with Miles and Bass. Having the opportunity to continue fighting occasionally as the last random groups of Patriots were taken down gave her a sense of purpose. The downside was that she was paid considerably less than the two former generals although she doubted they ever even considered that part of things. After so long together, they thought of her an equal. It was too bad the rest of the world didn't see it that way.

Her biggest fear had always been the thought of settling – being stuck in one place for the rest of her life tied down with some farm boy and never feeling excitement or anticipation again. She had been able to escape that fate so far, but Rachel was really starting to push. Random guys kept showing up at the house, hired by Rachel to do odd jobs or have a bite of dinner because who knew when they last had a decent, home-cooked meal. Even Miles was starting to talk about eligible bachelors.

Add that to the fact that she had to listen to her mom and Miles going at it like rabbits every night…and walking in on them in various rooms of the house at any time of the day…Charlie had decided it was time to get her own place. It was one thing to be the screamer on the receiving end of someone's cock; it was quite another to hear it coming from your mom and uncle. The only problem was that you couldn't just commandeer a place anymore; you actually had to pay for it. And so Charlie's shadow career had been born.

Babysitting, substitute teaching, washing at the laundry, cleaning out stalls, plowing fields, temporary medic (thanks Grandpa Gene)…whatever was available, Charlie took it. She earned her way across Texas moving from small town to small town where she wasn't known and when she wasn't on a job with Miles and Bass. She was so close to having the money she needed for a small house she'd had her eye on for a while that she had broken her rule of staying under the radar in remote areas. This nude modeling gig was actually in Austin. It paid enough to finally allow her to get the house and still have money left over for repairs, food and some savings. Knowing they kept their models' faces hidden, Charlie figured she would chance it this time. The knowledge that she would soon be able to move away from the sex fiends/matchmakers was all the incentive she needed to take this risk. Settling onto the padded table, Charlie struck her pose.

* * *

Bass was wondering what the hell had just happened. He had never had such a visceral reaction to someone whose face he couldn't even see. He was all about the face and tits; not once in his life had he ever thought, "There's an ass I could live with." Shaking his head to try and clear his thoughts, he picked up a pencil and started to do a rough outline of the body in front of him.

Starting at the top of the model's head and working his way down, Bass's pencil seemed to fly across the canvas as he captured her mouth-watering form. What he wouldn't give to be able to see if her front side matched her back side. Pulling himself back from his daydreams, Bass looked more closely at his pencil drawing. "What the hell?" The drawing showed what looked to be the Monroe/Matheson M right above the model's ass in the middle of her lower back.

"That will teach me to draw and daydream at the same time." Bass looked around his canvas toward the platform to see what it was that had prompted him to pencil in the "M" and brand her as his. And there it was….he hadn't imagined it. A smattering of freckles above her ass seemed to form an "M."

It was nearly impossible to surprise Bass, but this anonymous woman was touching a place inside him that he thought was long dead and buried. Instead of feeling relief that this was his last class, he was spending his few remaining minutes trying to figure out what had caused this instant reaction and how he could find out more about her.

"Tsk, tsk Mr. Monroe. You haven't even put paint to paper yet. All of your classmates are practically done. I'm not sure you have fulfilled the first part of your sentence." Suddenly finding himself on the receiving end of one of the iciest glares he had ever seen, Mr. Rodney quickly backtracked. There was no need to tick off a man with Sebastian Monroe's reputation for physicality.

"Actually, now that I take another look, you have captured our model's likeness quite well even though you opted to use a different medium. I think it's safe to congratulate on your successful completion of our course. I look forward to visiting Willoughby to view your mural once it's completed." Wiping his damp forehead, Mr. Rodney continued to back away from Bass as he dismissed the class for the last time.

Peering around his canvas to try and catch the model before she left, Bass bit back a few choice words as he realized that Mr. Rodney's critique of his work had given the model the time she needed to slip away. Hell, there couldn't be too many hookers in Austin who had freckles in the shape of an "M" on their ass. It should be fairly easy to track her down.

One week later, Bass was no closer to finding her than he had been when he started his search. Frustration was running high as he went to see his last resort…the very last person in Austin he wanted to talk to about this.

"Ah, Bass…coming to tell me what you're planning for the mural in Willoughby? I have to admit that I'm impressed by the reports coming out of Miss Pettigrew's establishment of your talent with a paintbrush. It seems so…not you. You are on your way back to get started, aren't you?" Frank leaned back in his chair smirking as Bass glowered at him.

"Okay, Frank. Cut the bullshit. I don't know how you found out that I could draw and I don't want to know. I'll draw the damn mural. What I do know is that I need to find the model they used in my last class, and the school won't tell me shit. All I could persuade them to tell me was that she went by C King."

Leaning forward as his jaw muscles tensed, Frank glared back at Bass. "So help me Bass, if you did anything to hurt Miss Pettigrew or any of her staff, I'm going to come up with something else to add to your community service sentence. They shouldn't even have told you any part of her name. The bottom line is that I don't know who the model was, and they don't either. The school prides itself on retaining the anonymity of its models, and that's how they can get models that aren't working girls if you know what I mean."

"Wait a minute. Are you telling me that this model wasn't a hooker? Goddammit. No wonder I haven't been able to find her." Bass took a step back from Frank's desk, his forehead wrinkling a little as he wrestled with this new problem. "How the hell am I going to be able find someone who isn't a hooker but was willing to pose naked?!"

"Not my problem, General. Good day to you…and happy painting!" Frank grinned at Bass as he backed him out of his office and slammed the door in his face.


	3. Chapter 3

Life was surprisingly good at the moment. Charlie had purchased the cute house she wanted just outside of town. Getting it fixed up, finding furniture, learning to cook on a wood burning stove, and doing some landscaping was keeping her busy for now. A quick giggle popped out as she realized she was actually happy to be planting flowers and vegetables in her own little yard. Who would have ever thought it?

"Hey, kid. Hope you're decent," Miles called out as he walked through her front door. Looking up from her kitchen counter, Charlie saw the frown on Miles' face.

"Miles? What are you doing here? Is everything alright?"

"Yeah, everything's okay. I just need a favor and you're the only person who can help me right now. Believe me, I've tried to find another way, but you're my last resort."

Charlie grimaced. If that was his opening statement, whatever this favor was, it wasn't going to be good.

"Just hear me out first, okay? You know your mom and I are worried about you being out here all alone." Charlie snorted at that. They both knew she was more than capable of taking care of herself. "And Bass has been looking for a place to live while he's in town painting that stupid mural Frank stuck him with."

"Absolutely not! There is no way you are about to ask me to let Sebastian Monroe share my house to help protect me. How the hell do you think I managed to survive until now, Miles? I can outshoot and outfight every single man in this town, and you know it. No…not only no…hell no! There is no way I am letting Bass Monroe move into my house."

Grimacing at her reaction, Miles looked Charlie in the eyes for the first time since he'd entered her house.

"Okay, kid. You got me. Bass has been staying with your mom and me, and I can't take the fighting anymore. If you ever repeat this, I will find a way to make your life miserable. I love them both, but they can't be under the same roof. And I can't fuck Bass, so Rachel stays and he goes. You guys know each other and seem to have reached some kind of understanding about getting along when you were on the road. You've got the space now…and we still need to talk about how you were able to afford this house….and Bass needs a place to stay. It's not that long…just until he finishes that goddamn mural and then figures out his next move."

"Great…so you get privacy to screw like rabbits. What exactly do I get out of this deal?" Charlotte grumbled. "It seems to me that I'm getting a big fat nothing in return."

"You mean besides my undying gratitude? Okay, how about this…I will keep your mom off your back about dating and getting married for the next six months. And before you ask how, I'll make up some story about you meeting someone on one of our trips and now you're in a long distance relationship, but he's out on patrol somewhere. "

"Really, Miles? How many people are you going to have to tell this story to and get them to agree to tell it to my mom because you know she's going to be checking it out? Whatever happened to keeping the stupid to a minimum?"

Miles grinned at her, knowing she had just agreed to let Bass move in.

"Don't worry about it, Charlie. I've got it all covered. All you have to do is sit around moping like you're in love and missing Beau."

"Beau…who the hell is Beau?

"Beauregard Sebastian Hineman…the third. He's your boyfriend, but we call him Beau for short, get it? Beau is your beau. It's perfect." Miles' grin stretched from ear to ear as he spouted off the name of Charlie's conquest.

"Hineman? Way to literally pull his name out of your ass, Miles. There is no way this is going to work. You know that, right? And I am not going to be there to protect you when it all goes down the toilet….which it will."

"Charlie, when have I ever let you down? This is going to be the best thing ever. I'll tell Bass he can move in today. Just try not to kill each other, okay?"

Miles did a quick about face and sped out of the house before Charlie could say anything else. Standing there open-mouthed, Charlie was trying to figure out when she had lost control of the situation. Bass Monroe was about to move in with her...today! Holy crap, her insides were already fluttering just thinking about him and now he was going to be sleeping right across the hall from her and sharing a bathroom. How the heck was she supposed to pretend to be in love with some fake boyfriend named Beau when the one she still couldn't fully admit to craving was going to be all around her?


	4. Chapter 4

"What? Fuck it, Miles. You couldn't have told me this earlier and let me find my own place to crash?" A livid Bass was gripping the table in front of him as Miles tried to save the bottle of whiskey now wobbling precariously toward the edge.

"Bass, you know I love you like a brother, but this shit between you and Rachel isn't going to get better, and I need to be able to sleep at night without worrying that I'll wake up to a blood bath in the house because you two couldn't act like grown-ups. You and Charlie get along now, and she's got all that space going to waste. Plus, I really don't like her living outside of town all by herself. You'd be doing me a big favor keeping an eye out for her."

Bass sighed heavily. He understood the concern Miles had about Charlie living on her own. Hell, he'd felt the same way, but he wasn't stupid enough to tell her that. His occasional visits just to drink some whiskey also allowed him to keep an eye on her. Plus her house was always so clean and she always smelled so good…and she was actually starting to turn into a decent cook. Bass gave himself an internal shake. Man, if he knew anyone else thinking the same way about some chick, he'd say they were whipped and call them out on it. Good thing he hadn't said anything to Miles about his concerns about Charlie, or the fact that he got a raging hard-on whenever he was near her for any length of time.

"Fine, Miles. As a favor to your sex life, I will move in with Charlie. And when things go all to shit, just remember that you're the one who planned and executed this whole thing. I'll go pack my things."

Miles smirked as Bass left to pack. This was working out great. He and Rachel could now safely deface every surface in the house, and he knew Bass would look after Charlie as if she belonged to him. Life was good. What could possibly go wrong?

The thump of boots on her front porch startled Charlie as she stared out her kitchen window. She'd pretty much been stuck in place since Miles' departure an hour earlier as she tried to figure out some kind of game plan for living with Bass and coming across as his friend and not subconsciously acting like some bar bunny who was ready and willing to jump his bones any time he looked at her.

A quick knock, and the front door swung open. "Charlie, are you here? It's me, Bass." Bass shook his head. Well, of course, it was him. She knew he was coming and she knew his voice…could he be any more of an idiot? He needed to keep the panic off his face and treat Charlie just as if she were one of his sisters and not the incredibly attractive woman that she had become since he first laid eyes on her in Philadelphia. In fact, now that he thought about it, the only other person that had gotten a similar rise out of him was one C King, who seemed to have disappeared off the face of the earth. He needed to revisit finding her if he was going to be able to live with Charlie and not think about pounding into her every time she walked by him.

Wiping her hands on a towel as she came out of the kitchen, Charlie opted to go for a casual vibe and took a deep breath to try and calm her racing heart.

"Hey, roomie. I hear you're stuck with me for a while until you finish this mural. Are you going to give me any inside scoop on what it's going to be?"

"Sorry, Charlie. It's an artist's prerogative to keep their work hidden until they feel it's just right, and I've decided that's what I need to do. If Frank's going to make me go through with this, then I'm going to make everyone wait for the final product…and that includes you. Is that going to be a problem?"

Please let it be a problem, Bass was thinking so that he would have an excuse to find another place to stay.

"Of course it's not a problem. I completely understand wanting to keep things private until, or if, you decide you want to share," Charlie stated as she thought about all the odd jobs she had taken to earn the money for her house. Her goal was to make sure no one ever found out all the things she had done to secure her house money. Miles and Bass would understand the hard work, but not the modeling gig and Rachel…well, who knew what she would do if she ever found out that Charlie had stripped down in a room full of strangers. She would have to leave town for a while if that came out.

"I also understand what it's like to have to live with Miles and my mom so you're welcome to stay here, but I've never really had a roommate before, Bass. Do we need to make some house rules or something? Like I don't mind doing your wash if I'm doing my own, but I'm not making a special trip just to do something you didn't get around to doing. And since there's only one bathroom, do we need to make a schedule? What about food? Hope you don't expect me to cook for you, too, because I'm not doing it. I'm not your maid." Charlie's underlying panic about living with Bass was starting to show as things kept pouring out of her mouth.

Bass help up his hands in surrender. "Charlie, calm down. This isn't a big deal. We've traveled together and stayed in plenty of rooms alone and we never had a problem before. Let's just take it one day at a time and see how it goes. If we need to straighten something out, we'll do it." In the back of his head, though, Bass was thinking, "You're General Sebastian Monroe, damn it. Don't let her see you're scared."

As he took his things up to his bedroom, Bass decided that he definitely needed to kick his latest attempt to find his model into gear. Otherwise, he might find himself accidentally sleepwalking into Charlie's bedroom one night. Before the blackout, he could have crafted a personal ad, "Seeking Miss C King. You whet my whistle and stroked my brushes when you modeled for my art class. Let's trace our freckles together."

Now, how the hell was he going to let C King know he couldn't get her out of his mind? Bass remembered a line from some chick flick talking about a 'grand gesture' being the way to let someone know you wanted to be with him. What could he do that would be talked about enough that it would eventually reach the ears of one C King?


	5. Chapter 5

Life settled down for Charlie and Bass. Weeks went by as they grew used to living with each other. Bass left in the morning to work on his mural while Charlie did chores around the house, helped out at Betty's bar and occasionally did some work for Frank Blanchard.

Acting like the partners they had been on the road rather than just roommates, they found themselves working in tandem more and more often when they were home together. Cooking, cleaning, doing laundry, working in the garden together, even finishing each other's sentences became a habit. Soon the inhabitants of Willoughby began to accept that where one was, the other was sure to follow.

Walking into the kitchen one morning after some of the best wake-up sex he'd had in a while, Miles' grin was wiped off his face by the look on Rachel's.

"What's up, Rachel? You're looking a little out of sorts." Mentally cataloguing everything he had done in the previous few days, Miles couldn't come up with anything that might be causing the current look on her face.

"Why haven't we met Charlie's boyfriend yet, Miles? You said he was on assignment but it's been months. Surely, he's come back. Why hasn't he made an appearance? She never mentions him, but everyone in town is talking about Charlie and Bass…Bass and Charlie….We need to get that kid here now to break up whatever is happening with the two of them. I'm sure Charlie is just missing him and that's why she and Bass have been hanging out together so much."

"Charlie and Bass live together, Rachel. Of course, they are occasionally going to be seen doing the same things at the same time. On the road, you maximize your time by sharing your chores. They're doing what they were trained to do." Miles could feel his heart thumping in his chest and beads of sweat starting to form. He only hoped Rachel couldn't see the pulse beating in his neck as he tried to get control of the situation.

"Well, I don't like it. I've written to Frank Blanchard asking him to find this Beau Hineman and send him here immediately. Bass can be a smooth talker when he wants to be, and I don't want him to suddenly think of Charlie as a target of opportunity. We need to do something."

Blanching a little, Miles started at Rachel. "Wait, what? You wrote to Frank about someone's boyfriend? What the hell, Rachel? Don't you think Frank has more important things to do than play matchmaker? Goddamn it. Now I'm going to have to go to Austin to get this straightened out. You'd better hope you haven't done anything to damage Beau's career…or mine or Charlie's…with this little stunt!"

Turning around, Miles went stomping into the bedroom to throw things into his pack. Of all the stupid things to do, how could Rachel have done this? He'd been so sure he'd found the ticket to keeping her occupied with anything other than Charlie's love life and now he was going to have to go see Frank in person and give up some of his personal stash of good whiskey to keep Frank from blabbing. All this just to have sex with Rachel. He was beginning to wonder if it was worth it.

 _Austin_

"General Miles Matheson to see Frank Blanchard and before you ask, no, I don't have an appointment. What I do have is a crap load of a problem that only he can help with." Miles gave Frank's secretary one of his patented "I want you" smiles to help soften her up.

"I'm so sorry General Matheson. His schedule is packed today. I just don't see how he is going to be able to fit you in," Ellie Sinclair stated with hardly a quiver in her voice. She was very aware of the reputation that Miles had gained during the war and was not too sure that he wouldn't try whipping out his Butcher of Baltimore persona to get his way.

"I understand, Ellie, but could you please check? It's really a matter of life and death," Miles said as he leaned over her desk thinking about the many ways Rachel would kill him if she ever found out the truth about Beau and just why Bass was now living with Charlie.

About to tell him no again, Ellie flinched when her boss's voice roared from behind his door. "Ellie, get someone to go find me Miles Matheson. There's something going on here, and I think I'm about to get lucky!"

Shaking her head and then standing up, Ellie walked over to open Frank's door. "General Matheson to see you, sir."

Walking in to the office, Miles saw Frank Blanchard sitting behind his desk holding what he assumed was Rachel's letter. With a sinking feeling, Miles spoke first.

"Hey, Frank. Long time, no see."

"What the fuck, Miles!" Waving a piece of paper in Miles face, Frank blustered on. "What have you dragged me into and who is Beau Hineman? I've never heard of him. Who does Rachel think she is ordering me to cough him up?"

"Funny story, Frank. You'll love this." Miles winked at him trying to placate him a bit. "Rachel was…being Rachel and pissing people off. You may not know this, but Charlie bought her own place and is living just outside of town so Rachel decided she needed looking after. My house was becoming a regular parade of The Bachelor rejects because she kept insisting that Charlie needed to settle down." Frank snorted but didn't interrupt so Miles kept going.

"You making Bass paint that mural meant that he was staying with us, and it was starting to cramp my style. Between Rachel's shit and Bass's shit, and their constant arguing over other stupid shit, I needed to get him out of the house. Charlie had her own place. I cut a deal where Charlie would let Bass stay with her while he worked on your goddamn mural if I got Rachel off her back about finding a husband. I made up the whole Beau Hineman thing and told Rachel that Charlie had found someone but that he was off on a long-term assignment for you."

"So what's the rest of the story, Miles? Why is Rachel demanding that he be brought home?" Frank asked with a gleam in his eye.

"Well, that's where it starts to get a little hinky. It turns out that Bass and Charlie live together the same way they partner on assignments. They hang out so much that they kind of sync up and work and talk in unison. Hell, sometimes they even finish each other's sentences, and if I'm honest, it is getting a little creepy. They really do seem to know what the other one is thinking most of the time. Anyway, Rachel thinks that Beau needs to show up to remind Charlie that Bass is temporary and to remind Bass that Charlie is off limits and that she's promised to someone else."

Starting to understand a bit of what was going on, Frank nodded his head toward Rachel's letter. "But there is no Beau, right? And now I suppose you want me to produce one genuine boyfriend for your niece? Why can't Bass just tell Rachel about C King and his interest in her? That might shut Rachel up for a while. "

"Who is C King? Bass has never mentioned her, and I know there's no one in Willoughby by that name."

Frank grinned. "Ahh, the plot thickens. Bass was lusting over one of the models he had to draw during his stint at Miss Pettigrew's. Her name was C King, and he tried really hard to find her after that class was over. Even came here and tried to shake me down, but I was having none of it. Those girls have their own reasons for wanting to pose naked, and I'm not about to let anyone put that class at risk. It's one of my favorites."

"Really nice, Frank. Sounds like it's your own personal peep show," Miles grinned. "If you ever feel like sharing…"

"Actually, Miles, I do have a little something that needs a special person to handle it. If you can take care of something for me, I'll see what I can do to solve your Beau Hineman problem."

A little worried at the ease with which he had accomplished his objective, Miles stuck out his hand. "It's a deal, Frank. Now what is it I have to do?"


	6. Chapter 6

Bass had managed to scrounge metal piping to create scaffolding over the side of the bank where he was painting the mural. He had decided to do it in sections like a puzzle so that it would leave people guessing until the grand unveiling. Luckily, Frank had also found some tarps for him to use to keep the wall covered, and nobody was going to risk pissing off Bass Monroe by peeking before he was ready to show it to the world.

Coming in from another day of painting in the hot sun, Bass was thinking of one thing only….Charlie's bathtub. Aaron had helped Charlie fashion piping that ran down from a water tank outside and through the faucet in the old tub. It was one of the best perks about living with Charlie. In the warmer months, you didn't have to heat and carry water to a tub to bathe.

Getting in the tub, Bass idly stroked his semi-hard cock as he relaxed for a few minutes. As usually happened when he was alone, his thoughts swung to Charlie and what she did in her bedroom at night after she closed her door. When he had first come to Willoughby, she had seriously driven him crazy. Charlie was always clean. Not just sponge bath or dip in the river clean, but clear, shiny, smelling like the early morning dew clean. And it happened every single day. Every man in town stopped what he was doing whenever she walked by, captivated by her vitality and energy...and her smell. Hell, most of them probably didn't have a clue why they felt this pull to be near her, but he knew.

He remembered the day he finally decided he was done wondering how she stayed so clean. As much as the lingering glances and accidental touches were giving him heartburn and causing a major internal debate about the wisdom of defiling Mile's niece, her cleanliness was literally destroying his peace of mind.

She was at their usual booth in the bar. He had decided tonight was the night.

Sliding in next to her, Bass leaned over and inhaled slowly blowing his breath out next to her ear and seeing the goosebumps skitter down her skin. "So how are you doing it?"

"How am I doing what? Care to elaborate on what you think I've done now?"

Bass ran his fingers up her arm. "How are you staying so clean all the time?"

Charlie smirked as she looked at him. "It's called a bath. You should try one sometime."

"No, it's more than that. You're practically a walking, talking advertisement for a goddamn laundry detergent. You're hiding something, Charlotte, and I think it's time you shared. You're dirty just like the rest of us by the end of the day and somehow you are miraculously clean and sweet smelling the next morning. Your clothes are clean, too. Have you managed to find a fountain of Tide somewhere?"

"Seriously, Bass. We have this perfectly good bottle of whiskey in front of us and you want to debate the merits of my cleanliness versus yours? I'm here to drink, not play your game."

Bass smiled as he remembered the evening that had followed. Pouring drink after drink for her, he kept trying to get Charlie to spill her secret to being clean all the time. He continued to sit next to her, touching her, gently breathing in her ear, and once even running his tongue up her neck, doing everything short of sleeping with her he could think of to seduce her into telling him, but she had the Matheson stubbornness and he hadn't been successful in prying it out of her. It wasn't until he moved in that he had discovered the bathtub and all the soaps she had collected during their travels. Now he loved nothing better than getting in the tub after a long day and jerking himself to completion. It was the only way he could survive being near Charlie at night and not acting on his growing desire to throw her down on the nearest surface and pound into her until they were both exhausted.

Eyes closed while he stroked himself and imagined Charlie naked underneath him, Bass didn't hear the door swing open. Charlie stopped dead in her tracks with the clean towels as she saw a very wet and naked Bass in the bathtub. In her wildest dreams when she pleasured herself at night, she had never been able to fully imagine the perfection that was in front of her. She knew she should silently back out, but she was frozen in place watching as his hand sped up and his breathing became faster and shallower. Not even realizing her breathing pattern was starting to match his, Charlie felt a gush of wetness between her legs as she watched Bass come. Her quick intake of breath had Bass opening his eyes in a panic as hot cum arced into the bathwater.

"Jesus Christ, Charlie. Get out of here! What the hell…." Bass yelled as Charlie dropped the towels she was carrying and stumbled her way back out of the door red-faced.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry. I didn't know you were in there." Charlie gasped as she made a beeline for the front door. Opening it and running into the woods, Charlie ran to the one place she knew no one ever thought to look for her. The forest behind her house held a small hunting platform up in one of the trees. It was camouflaged so well that no had ever found it before. It had been a fluke that she had, and it had become a safe haven when things were getting too rough and she needed to hide away for a while. Knowing she had it stocked with a couple of blankets and some jerky, Charlie knew there was no way she was going back to her house tonight. She had some thinking…and remembering…to do.


	7. Chapter 7

"What do you mean, you don't know where she is?" Miles growled at Bass. "You're living with her; you said she's not seeing anyone, and she didn't tell any of us she was going out of town. How the hell did you lose my niece, Bass? "

Miles had stopped by for breakfast the morning after the night before only to find Bass on his own in the kitchen scribbling a note to Miles. Looking up from his writing, Bass dreaded telling Miles that Charlie hadn't come home the night before and he had no clue where she'd gone.

"Charlie is a grown woman, Miles. I don't keep tabs on her every second of the day."

Miles looked at Bass's face as he uttered that statement, and his eyes narrowed.

"I know you, Bass. You have that guilty look and that means something happened to spook her. What did you do? You didn't touch her, did you? I warned you…" Miles took a step towards Bass with his fist starting to swing up.

"You know I would never do anything to hurt Charlie, Miles, and you've warned me against touching her too many times for me not to have heard you." Hanging his head a little, Bass actually mumbled. "She may have caught me jerking off in the bathtub last night, and I may have yelled at her to get out."

"What? What the fuck, Bass? Are you or are you not an adult? If you have to do that in her home, why didn't you at least lock the door so she couldn't come it? How long has it been since you've seen her?"

"I didn't plan to get caught, Miles, and you've done it plenty of times where you've gotten caught, too. The bathroom door doesn't close all the way so there's no way I could have locked it, and I didn't even know she was home. I thought she was in town. I didn't go in there thinking, hey, I hope Charlie's around so I can give her a show."

"Shit. We need to figure out where she's gone and go get her back. I can't believe I thought she would be safer with you in her house." Miles grabbed his jacket and headed to the front door with Bass right behind him.

As Miles reached for the handle, the door swung open revealing a very tired and dirty Charlie.

Miles and Bass immediately started talking over each other.

"Charlie, where have you been? Are you okay, kid? I can't believe this dick did what he did."

"Charlotte, I didn't know…I would never…I wasn't…"

Charlie glared at both of them and held up her hand effectively stopping both of their tirades.

"I am tired, I haven't slept much, and I am filthy. I am going upstairs to take a bath in my tub alone and then I am going to sleep. I do not want to talk about last night. All I want is peace and quiet. Get out of my house now."

The Generals looked at each other and then looked at Charlie's backside as she dragged herself upstairs trailing dirt along the way and entering the bathroom.

"You need to fix this, Bass. She's not one of those priss pots, but she also shouldn't expect a porn show in her house every night."

"I plan to apologize, Miles. I know it was a dick move, and I'll make things right. However, now is not the time to do it so I'm going to go work on my mural. I suggest you leave the house, too, since it seems to be what Charlotte wants right now."

Bass kept his head down a bit as he walked to the town square. Miles kept him company intent on going into Betty's to grab the breakfast he had missed having at Charlie's. Entering the town square, they heard Betty calling and waving them over.

"Hey, guys. We've got a problem," Betty said. "There's some guy inside the diner asking about Charlie. Says he's her boyfriend and he's come to make things right with her."

Bass looked stunned as all color drained out of Miles' face.

"Did he say what his name was, Betty?" Miles asked.

"Yeah, it's… Assman? No, wait…sorry. It's Hineman. I used ass man to help me remember it."

"Oh, shit."

"Miles, who is this guy? Did you know Charlie was seeing someone when you made me move in with her?" Bass didn't like surprises and he definitely didn't like one where someone might separate him from Charlie. Regardless of how things were right now, he knew he couldn't walk away from her…and some day he might actually find the balls to tell Miles.

"Come on, Bass. Let me buy you breakfast and I'll tell you all about Beau Hineman. Then, we'll go meet this tool and see who he is and what he wants."

Not for first time, Andrew Charles wondered what the hell he was doing here in Willoughby. He should be home in Austin finally convincing Ellie that he was ready to settle down and she was the only one for him. Instead, thanks to Frank Blanchard, he was waiting for General Miles Matheson to show up and explain an undercover mission that didn't seem to be remotely related to routing out any remaining Patriots.

Startled by a large hand clasping his shoulder, Andrew turned around and looked straight into the eyes of the Butcher of Baltimore. "Holy shit, is that General Monroe, too? I'm going to die if I screw this up," thought Andrew.

"Sir. Andr…Beau Hineman reporting for duty, sir. President Blanchard informed me that I was needed in Willoughby now that my last assignment is finished."

"At ease, Beau. You're in civvies now. There's no need to salute, stand at attention or anything else Frank wants you to suck up to him but that's not our style. Come on over to our table and let's talk." Miles walked away assuming he would be followed but Bass had stopped Andrew with a hand on his chest.

"You do anything to hurt Charlie, and I mean anything, I will hunt you down. Do you understand?"

"Shit, Bass. You're scaring the piss out of him. Let him sit down so I can talk to him. And quit getting your panties in a wad over this. I'm the over protective uncle here. Get a grip."

At that, Bass turned and stalked over to the table. Pulling out a chair directly across from Andrew, he continued to glare at him as Miles talked.

"Listen, Beau. I know this is weird, but go with me on this and we'll get you out of here as quickly as we can. Long story short, I need you to break up with my niece, Charlie. You've been her boyfriend for a while but have been away on assignment. While you were gone, you met someone else so you need to let Charlie go. Do you have a girlfriend, Beau?"

Still confused by everything that was happening, Andrew managed to eke out a yes. "Yes sir. Her name is Ellie Sinclair and I…"

"Wait a minute. Ellie Sinclair as in Frank's secretary? How did he get you to agree to this?"

"I wasn't given a choice, sir. My orders were to complete whatever mission you had for me using the name Beau Hineman. I'm getting an extended leave if I am successful, and then I plan to ask Ellie to marry me."

"Okay, we can work with this," Miles said. You got to know Ellie when you were assigned as an aide to the President. Your feelings grew and you realized that you were looking forward to getting back to her and not to Charlie. Are you paying attention, Beau? You don't want to know what Charlie's mom will do to you if she doesn't believe you're truly in love with Ellie."

"But I am sir…truly in love. It's not a lie."

"In that case, let's walk you over to Charlie's now. I'm going to introduce you around town as we go so people know who you are. Hopefully, we won't run into Rachel, and I will be able to vouch that you were here and dumped Charlie. What do you think, Bass? It's going to work, right?"

"Whatever happened to keep the stupid to a minimum, Miles? You are a fucking idiot right now," Bass growled at him. "And need I remind you that Charlie kicked us both out of her house this morning…"

"She's going to thank us for this in the long run. Come on, Beau. Let's go meet your soon to be ex girl friend."

Charlie was finally clean after her much needed bath, but she was still so angry that she knew she wouldn't be able to sleep. Heading for the garden, she opted to pull weeds rather than trying to find someone to punch. With her hair tied up on her head, she was viciously attacking the green monsters and working up a sweat when she heard Miles' voice behind her.

"Hey, kid. I need to introduce you to someone."

"Get out, Miles. I told you I needed some time alone."

"Yeah, but you need to meet this guy so my master plan to keep Rachel off your back can continue."

Wiping some sweat off her head, Charlie turned around ready to give Miles a piece of her mind when she noticed a handsome young man next to him and Bass looking pissy behind him.

"Ummm…hi. I'm your boyfriend, Beau. I'm here because I've fallen in love with someone else and I need to break up with you."

"What? Who the hell are you? I've never seen you in my life." Charlie started to take a step toward him with her hands clenched in fists.

"Whoa there, Ronda Rousey. Relax the fists. This is actually Andrew Charles, and Frank Blanchard was able to convince him to play your missing boyfriend…you know, the one I told you about…the one that's been keeping Rachel off your back for the past few months?"

"Sucks to be you, Andrew. What did you do to get in debt to Frank Blanchard? Okay, I'll make this easy for you. Get out of my house, you two-timing snake. How could you break my heart like this? I will never forgive you for this." Charlie deadpanned her way through her little speech.

"Okay, Miles, are you satisfied now? I will be appropriately heartbroken meaning I will be at the bar drinking tonight. Andrew, thank you for your service. I'm very sorry you had to get mixed up in the crazy that is my family. Now all of you need to go. I still need my alone time."

Holding up her hand to Bass as he started to say something, "That means you, too, Bass. I am so not ready to talk to you about anything. Let me be. Miles, you'd better get me at least another three months of freedom from my mom for this."

Turning back to her weeds, Charlie presented her backside to the three men. "Why are you still here? Go away."


	8. Chapter 8

Bass used his t-shirt to wipe the sweat from his brow. He tended to work longer hours now trying to finish the mural as quickly as possible. It meant he was out of the house at dawn and didn't return until dark. After the bathtub incident and his apology, and then the Beau 'break-up,' he and Charlie had reached a kind of détente. They still lived together but spoke only when necessary. The tension was close to unbearable when they were in the same space together The spark that had been there before had been severely strained, and Bass didn't know how to make it right again.

It didn't help that he couldn't get Charlie out of his mind and was constantly finding ways to brush up against her or try to force her to look at him in the evenings. He wanted…no, he needed…Charlie to become his partner again. He'd never had any luck finding C King and all of those lustful feelings had transferred fully to Charlie. He had wanted her for a long time and knew that it was an impossible situation. C King would have been his way out of the feelings he had developed for Charlie over the years; he knew it in his gut. He still remembered that immediate lust pooling in his groin when he first laid eyes on her backside. She was still out there somewhere and he was determined to get out of Willoughby and find her as soon as this mural was finished.

Charlie, too, continued to go through the motions when she and Bass were together in the house. She had wanted him for so long (yes, she could finally admit it to herself), but she knew a lost cause when she saw one. His reaction to her when she caught him in the bathtub couldn't have been clearer. Where she wanted to jump in that tub with him, he wanted nothing more than to get her out of there. There would never be any kind of relationship with Bass Monroe other than the one as Miles' niece.

She went back to picking up odd jobs in different towns just as she had done when she was saving to buy her house. She told Miles and her mom that she was antsy staying in Willoughby after Beau left so she had decided to work in other towns to earn some money. She talked about saving up to build an addition on her house, and traveling to other territories as an envoy for Frank Blanchard. She was so convincing that people started talking to her in "when you get back" terms….as in, when you get back, will you be renting out a room in your place? Do you want me to watch your garden until you get back? Is Bass Monroe going to watch your house until you get back?"

Miles had taken to dropping in for breakfast several mornings a week although it was really more about seeing how Charlie and Bass were doing together. He couldn't help feeling a certain amount of guilt for having pushed the two of them into living together in the first place. As they went through the motions of eating breakfast one morning, Miles had had enough and threw down his napkin.

"You guys need to suck it up and get over whatever this is. This isn't how it's supposed to be. For better or worse, you always had each other's back and now you won't even look at each other. Bass, you need to grow a pair and quit moping all over town because you guys had a fight, and Charlie, you need to forgive him for being an ass and get back to being friends again."

Two pairs of blue eyes stared at Miles as he finished his pronouncement. Had he actually gotten through to them? Both sets went back to looking at the food they were eating and uttered not a sound.

"Fuck this. I am done trying to fix it. If you want to stay stupid, then stay stupid. I'm going home."

* * *

It was unveiling day. After many months of hard work in the hot sun, Bass had finally finished the mural. The tarps were being removed today in a ceremony that would be presided over by none other than Frank Blanchard.

Knowing his time with Charlie was coming to an end, Bass tried one last time to mend their partnership. Heading into the kitchen, he found Charlie cooking something for breakfast.

"Morning. Have I died and gone to heaven? Is that really bacon I smell?" Bass reached around her to grab a piece. "Where did you get bacon?"

Charlie, too, had realized that Bass would be moving out soon and leaving Willoughby. After today's ceremony, there would be nothing left to keep him there. She could at least make his last meal with her memorable.

"I did some work on a farm a few towns over. They paid me in eggs and bacon so I thought it might be nice to celebrate your finished mural with something different. I had the farmer hold off on paying me until I knew you had finished the mural."

"You did that for me? I'm really touched, Charlie." Leaning over to kiss her cheek as a thank you, both of them were startled when Charlie unexpectedly turned her head to say something and Bass's lips were suddenly on hers. Eyes wide open, each one staring at the other, neither one of them moved. After a few seconds, she took an unsteady step back, bumping awkwardly into the kitchen counter. She watched him with wide eyes. "What was that?"

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to kiss you."

"Yeah, of course. I knew you didn't do it on purpose." The smell of burning food caused her to curse as she turned back to save the eggs.

Bass ignored the burning eggs and put a hand on her shoulder. "The kiss was an accident, but I really do miss what we had before that whole bath tub incident. Can't we go back?"

Taking a deep breath, Charlie tried to calm her rapidly beating heart. Just the thought of the bath tub incident set her belly on fire. His hand on her shoulder, smooth and warm, wasn't helping. "It's okay, Bass. I know you didn't mean anything by it. I'm just Miles' niece, after all. Why would I ever think you wanted to kiss me?"

"What the hell are you talking about? Of course I'd like to kiss you. I mean, I'm human, but that doesn't mean I should have done it. I'm sorry."

Charlie watched him with a guarded expression before shaking her head and beginning to plate the bacon and eggs. "Just sit down and eat the breakfast I've fixed you. We're fine."

"No, we're obviously not fine, but we were making some progress, weren't we? Charlie, please don't shut me out again. Not now."

Charlie shrugged. "I'm not shutting you out. Not doing anything to you." Her voice took on an edge and her chin jutted out defiantly. "Same as before, just like you wanted."

"What are you saying?" Bass's head began to spin. What was going on here? He took a step toward her, hoping to make things right.

She cut him off. "Just eat. After the unveiling I'm sure you'll have women lined up to kiss you and your community service will be over so you can move on. Then you can forget all about me and living here."

Bass shook his head. "I will never forget you. Not ever. You are smart and loyal and the best partner I've ever had. You're a beautiful woman. Any man would be lucky to have you. I just….It can't be me."

"Never said I wanted it to be you, did I?" Charlie's eyes burned into his.

Bass hesitated a bit before continuing with something he had never admitted out loud. "I'm broken, and we both know it. Sometimes I wish…." He shook his head. "No. You deserve someone who will always be there for you, someone who isn't broken."

"Mom and Miles won't ever shut up about the kind of guy I need. Now you too? You guys need to give me a break. Besides, I never said I wanted anyone. Especially not you."

Bass frowned, his shoulders sagging. "Well, that's good because just about anyone out there is better for you than me."

Charlie struggled to lighten the mood. "Hey, it was nothing. It wasn't even a real kiss. Pretty shitty, honestly. Get over yourself."

Her smile did the trick and Bass felt lighter. "Yeah, it was pretty shitty," he muttered with a smirk, even though he didn't agree at all. Picking up his fork, he stabbed a chunk of overcooked egg.

Charlie watched as he hesitated with the fork half-way to his mouth. She sighed. "Go ahead. Eat. You've got an important day ahead of you." In that moment, the finality of it all began to really sink in. He would be leaving. With hurt lacing her voice, Charlie looked down at her plate. "Your show starts soon."

"You're coming, right? It wouldn't be the same without you there. You helped me get through this whole thing. I don't think I could have done it if I'd stayed with Miles and Rachel….Please." Bass was silently willing Charlie to look up from the plate and make eye contact with him. He knew she wouldn't say no if he could get her to look at him. He reached out and put his hand over hers.

Looking up, Charlie felt the power of his stare. "I don't know why you want me there, Sebastian, but if it means that much to you, I will be there. And quit giving me the stare. You know it doesn't work on me. I'm not one of your conquests."

Laughing, Bass felt a lightness he hadn't felt in a while. "There you are. There's the Charlie I've missed. Of course, I want you there. You and Miles are my family. You're going to be on that viewing stand with me."

* * *

The town square was packed. A platform had been built in the middle of the square for Frank to emcee. Someone had come up with red, white and blue bunting to cover the railings and a small brass band from Austin was playing. A beautifully warm and sunny summer day was underway. Coupled with the smell of burgers and fried chicken from Betty's diner and kids running around screaming, there was almost a carnival atmosphere to the day.

Standing on the platform with Bass and surveying the festivities, Frank winked at a buxom female waltzing by him.

"Well, Bass…you did it. I always knew you would," Frank boomed over the crowd noise. "I knew I would be able to use that talent of yours someday. I just wasn't sure when or where."

"How did you even know, Frank? I could have been the worst artist in the world."

"I guess I can tell you now. The war's over and we all did what we had to do to survive. I used to have the tents of all officers searched regularly to make sure there were no spies or no plots against me. One of those searches turned up a notebook with watercolor drawings in it. I had you and Miles followed for weeks to see if one of you had actually done it. That poor kid shadowing you was dead on his feet by the time you finally snuck away to draw one night."

Frank threw a smirk his way only to be met by Bass' fist in his face as he stumbled back against the railing.

With his security immediately running toward Bass, Frank held up his hand to stop them from arresting Bass. "Nah. Leave him alone. He's earned it. Go back to your posts."

Realizing he had pushed the general too far with his invasion of privacy story, Frank looked back at Bass. "Why don't you take a walk around the square and cool off, Bass. I can wait a while to do the unveiling."

Stepping down from the platform, Bass was met by Miles and Charlie who had also come running as they watched the scene with Frank unfold. Hearing Frank's parting words to Bass, Charlie looked over at Miles and then grabbed Bass's arm and pulled him with her toward Betty's bar.

"Miss C, Miss C!" Looking over her shoulder, Charlie was visibly startled as she saw the child running toward their trio. "I miss you, Miss C. You were the best teacher I ever had. Do you live here? We came for the big party. My parents said they wanted to see some mean man get his cuppence. What's a cuppence? Are you going to come back and teach us again? Billy is going to be mad he didn't get to see you. He still checks for eggs in their henhouse just like you showed him. And I can help my dad clean the stalls now." The stream of consciousness threatened to continue until Charlie dropped Bass's arm and leaned down to hug the little girl.

"Hi, Ruthie. I've missed you, too. Did you run away from your parents? I hope they don't think you're lost." Charlie said as she bent down to Ruthie's level to talk to her.

"Nah. They're over there. They said I could come say hi." Ruthie waved to her parents who waved back and started moving toward their group. "What's cuppence, Miss C? Is it just for grown ups?"

Charlie laughed a little as she continued talking to Ruthie and ignoring Bass and Miles. "The word is comeuppance, Ruthie, and it means for someone to get what's coming to them. Think about when Billy was pulling your hair and he ended up falling in that mud puddle because he wasn't paying attention to anything else. He got his comeuppance."

Nodding her head, Ruthie pulled her parents over.

"Miss King, it's good to see you again," Ruthie's mother said. "Our students don't like the new teacher as much as they liked you, and I'm afraid they've been giving him a hard time. You wouldn't want to come back, would you?"

Shaking her head, Charlie sighed. "I have responsibilities here now, but it doesn't mean I can't come back for a visit or be a substitute whenever the new teacher needs a vacation. I miss the kids, too. It was great seeing you guys. Let the new guy know I'm here if he needs me." Hugging Ruthie one last time, Charlie turned away to see puzzled looks on the faces of Miles and Bass.

Without waiting for them to move, she headed back towards Betty's bar, grabbed a booth and waved a hand at Betty to bring a bottle over as Miles and Bass slid into the booth with her.

"What was that all about, kid? How do you even know that girl, and what did she call you?" Miles didn't even attempt to be subtle.

"It's my business, Miles, and I'm not sure I want to share it with you right now."

Hearing a strange noise from Bass, Miles looked over to see his brother a bit red faced and apparently having a little trouble catching his breath.

"Shit, Bass. Are you okay? Did Frank hurt you somehow when you threw that punch?"

Shaking his head no, Bass stared at Charlie. "You're C King? Did that kid just call you C King?

"What is wrong with you, Bass? Yes, I used a fake name. Suddenly angry at the questions and her interpretation of them as a lack of trust, Charlie exploded. "Do you really want to know why? Neither of you ever thought to ask how I supported myself, did you? All the time you were raking in a General's paycheck, I was being paid at a First Lieutenant's level. I needed more money to be able to buy my house and take care of myself so I've been working all over Texas and other territories doing different jobs to save money."

Draining her glass in a single gulp, Charlie started to glare at them. "I am not ashamed of anything I did to get the money I needed, and I would do it all again. I am so sick and tired of everyone thinking that they know what's best for me. None of you have any idea of who I am. You're so busy thinking of me as Rachel's little girl or Miles' niece or….or whatever… that you don't see me as I am. Well, screw you all. I'm heading home. Enjoy your unveiling, Bass."

Stunned, Miles and Bass stared at each other for what seemed like minutes after Charlie left.

"How could we have missed all that, Bass? When did she even have time to do any of those other jobs?" questioned Miles. "Man, I feel like a real shit right now...Well, aren't you going to say something? You missed it, too."

Shaking his head, Bass looked down at the table. "C King. She's C King, Miles. I've been living with her for months, and I never even knew."

"You're not making any sense, Bass. What the hell are you talking about with this C King? Wha…wait… wasn't that the name of the hooker you were trying to find?"

"She wasn't a hooker. She was an artist's model." Bass swallowed hard. "Miles, if that model really was Charlie, then I need to tell you something about the mural before Frank takes the tarps down."


	9. Chapter 9

Frank Blanchard was feeling mighty happy with himself. Sure, he had used a little tomfoolery to get some things done, but it made people like him, and the more people liked him, the easier it was to get laid. Not that it was the only reason he liked being President, but it sure didn't hurt. And now that he had been publicly successful in using Bass...as well as now having Miles indebted to him…well, Frank was pretty certain life was going to get a little easier. Hell, he might even start getting some more respect from other leaders. After all, none of them had ever been able to corral the two Generals. Yes indeedy, that honor belonged to only one person, and he was going to take full advantage of the opportunities that were about to present themselves as a result.

As Miles and Bass moved back toward the platform, Frank motioned to them to come stand beside him.

"Gentlemen, it's been a real pleasure working with you. Bass, I'm sure our paths will cross again, especially after word of your talent gets out. You can thank me later." Giving him a wink and a nod, Frank turned to Miles.

"Miles, I'm looking forward to your future missions for me."

"Missions? What the hell, Frank? You said you had one thing for me to do for you. One thing, not several, and you still haven't told me what it is." Miles all but sputtered at him.

"Now, Miles. Don't go getting your panties in a twist. If you think back, I said I had a little something I needed your help with. I didn't say it was just one thing." Frank grinned over his shoulder at a visibly angry Miles. "Now calm down a bit, and let's get this party started! We'll talk soon enough."

Turning to Bass, Miles ground out, "Could this day get any better? First, you share your little bit of shit news and now this crap from Frank. Bass….Bass…are you even listening to me?"

Wishing he were anywhere but here, Bass was paying no attention to Miles or to Frank. As Frank droned on, all Bass could think about was the exposure that was about to come his way. He had succeeded in life in large part due to his hard ass reputation. He was thorough and brutal when necessary. His ability to focus and see the larger picture had saved many people even as it had caused the deaths of others. While some might not agree with all of his methods, he had earned the grudging respect of Texas because of those efforts. All of that was about to go down the tubes once the mural was unveiled because, for the first time in a long while, Bass had truly put his heart into something.

Watching from the other side of the square, Charlie's eyes narrowed as she noticed the tension in Bass's body. After leaving the bar, she had run into another former student and decided to at least stick around for the grand unveiling. After all, she had been putting up with his presence in her house for months. She deserved to see what he had been up to all that time especially since he had been so close-mouthed. The way he was looking right now made her think this was going to be a spectacular failure and a part of her wanted to be close just in case he needed her. That was a laugh, though, because when had Bass ever truly needed her for anything.

Frank had finally reached the end of his speech. Lifting his hand, he motioned to his soldiers to pull down the tarps. Bass had requested that they be pulled down sequentially to give people a chance to take in each panel before the next was unveiled.

As the first tarp fluttered to the ground, silence abounded. A gray, desolate Willoughby stood before the townspeople, as much a victim of the war as they were.

Glaring at Bass, Frank spat out his words. "What is that crap, Monroe? You're supposed to beautify the town, not kill it."

Ignoring him, Bass raised his hand to the soldiers indicating that the second tarp could come down. Willoughby appeared again, but this time the sun was starting to peak out and a hint of brightness started to shine down. By now, a low hum could be heard as people tried to figure out what was going.

The third tarp suddenly dropped and everyone was treated to a town square showing life again. Vibrant colors, businesses opening, a community garden and people everywhere with smiles on their faces. The murmuring grew louder as people started to realize that Bass had actually drawn individual faces and everyone shifted to see if he might have captured their likeness on the mural.

Swallowing hard, Bass waved his hand for the final tarp to come down. A bright moon hung over the town, bathing the square in its gentle light and highlighting the peace that had finally taken root. Candles glowed in windows as children chased fireflies in the square and people sat at outdoor tables listening to a small band. It was the perfect ending to a perfect day.

A small noise started in the middle of the people looking at the mural. Another one joined, and then another one, and soon the entire square was clapping and cheering what was very obviously a labor of love from General Sebastian Monroe. No one could believe he had done it, and yet the proof was right there in front of their eyes. The big bad general had actually surprised everyone, and in a very good way.

Still on the platform, Miles narrowed his eyes at Bass. "I still can't believe you pulled that shit, you moron. How long until you think anyone notices?"

Frank turned around. "Huh? Notices what, Miles?"

And then he heard the first comment from the square. "Holy shit. Is that moon an ass?" "No way." "I knew it. No way could he do something that nice." "Once a jerk, always a jerk."

Moving his eyes up to take a better look at the moon on the final panel, Frank started laughing. "Good on you, Bass. That's one way to say 'fuck you' and let everyone know you didn't want to paint that mural. Did you model it after yourself?" Frank took another look. "Wait a minute, I know that ass. Nicely rounded, small "M" freckled above her crack…If I'm not mistaken, it belongs to one Miss C King. Am I right?"

A pained silence met his pronouncement.

"How would you even know that, Frank? Unless you spied on my niece while she was working an honest job trying to earn money as a model because you didn't pay her what she was really worth?" Already mad after Bass had shared with him the story of the moon over Willoughby, Miles didn't think twice about punching Frank in the face as he realized that Frank had used Miss Pansy Pettigrew's School of Culture and Etiquette as his own personal peep show…and that he had known exactly who Charlie was when she modeled.

Once again, Frank held up his hand to stop his guards as they rushed to grab Miles. "Leave him alone boys. He earned this one just like Bass earned the other one, but I'm telling you both now. No more. You've made your points, and I've made mine. I'm heading back to Austin. Miles, I'll be in touch." With a half-hearted wave and a shit eating grin on his bruised face, Frank moved off the platform and was hustled through the crowd by his body guards.


	10. Chapter 10

Charlie was mortified. Watching the tarps come down, she had been stunned by the beauty of the mural and the emotion it had evoked in everyone looking at it. She had no idea Bass had that kind of depth in him. She was moving toward the platform to find him when she caught some of the comments about the moon. Looking up, she saw her own backside emblazoned on the side of a wall for everyone to see.

Suddenly putting all the pieces together, she realized that Bass had been an artist in the only class in which she had ever posed nude. Her mom and Miles were somewhere in this crowd and both of them were going to recognize her freckled "M" and come looking for her. It had been a joke when she was little - Miles always teasing that he was going to make a special necklace for her one day with that "M" in the middle. That way, she would always know she was a Matheson whether she was coming or going. Now that "M" was going to make the shit hit the fan. It was time for a strategic retreat.

* * *

Feeing the need to get out of town quickly after the hub bub of the unveiling died down, Bass headed back to Charlie's house to pack his things. Now that Miles knew he'd seen Charlie naked, it wouldn't be long before Rachel came screeching in to add her insults to the shit storm that had become his day. Entering the house, something felt off. Bass knew it immediately.

Calling out for Charlie, Bass rushed upstairs to her room. Pushing open the door, it looked like a small tornado had come through. Clothes and bedding were strewn everywhere. Frantically continuing to call Charlie's name, Bass tore through the house looking for her. In the kitchen, he grabbed a piece of paper that was propped up on the table. Starting to read it, he heard the front door slam, and ran toward it only to find a still seething Miles.

Before Miles could even get a word out, Bass was babbling. "She's gone. She's gone, Miles." Waving a piece of paper and looking like he was about lose it, Bass ran his fingers through his hair. "We've got to find her. It can't end like this. I need to go…"

Realizing Bass was quickly coming undone, Miles took what he hoped was a conciliatory tone. "Bass, look at me. I don't know what you're talking about." Grabbing his arm, he repeated, "Look at me, Bass. Take a breath and give me the piece of paper so I can see what's going on."

Bass looked toward Miles without really seeing him and slowly raised his hand with the paper in it.

 _Miles, I need to leave town for a while. I don't know how long I'll be gone._ _Please look after my house, and don't come after me._ _/C_

Looking back at Bass, Miles wasn't sure what was going on. "I don't know what's got you so upset, Bass. Look, I'll forgive you for looking at Charlie naked. You didn't know it was her. Rachel will get over it eventually, and Charlie will, too. Let's head back to Betty's and grab a drink."

"I can't go with you, Miles. I've got to pack. I can't let her run away like this." Turning, Bass headed for the stairs.

"What do you mean you have to go after her? You had already decided to leave town yourself. She doesn't need us to go find her and bring her home like a stray dog. She'll come back when she's ready." Bass ignored him as he went up to his room.

Following him, Miles was startled to see Bass throwing clothes into his pack without any thought as to what he was putting in there.

"Bass, I don't know what's wrong with you, but you need to get your head out of your ass and get it together. Quit being a moron. It's just Charlie being Charlie. I haven't seen you like this since…." Stopping what he was about to say, Miles looked more closely at Bass as the pieces slowly came together and it finally dawned him. Their closeness...their partnership...the way they protected each other and even finished each other's thoughts and sentences...the way they mimicked each other's body posture without even realizing it...the way Charlie could calm him in a way that Miles couldn't...

Looking at Bass and not believing he was actually about to say this, "Shit…You're in love, aren't you, Bass? You love Charlie."

Bass stopped what he was doing and looked at Miles mutely still unable to admit it even to himself and then went back to throwing things toward his pack.

Shaking his head as if to clear it, Miles came to a quick decision. Putting his hand on Bass's arm, he stopped the onslaught of clothing being flung on the bed.

"Okay, brother. Calm down. I'm going to help you find Charlie, but we need to do this the right way. You're not going to be any good to her if you go off unprepared and get yourself hurt in the process so slow down and let me help you. You know as well as I do that it's going to be nearly impossible if she doesn't want to be found so we've got to strategize this as if we were planning a battle."

His frantic pace slowing down a bit as Miles continued to speak, Bass finally nodded.

"It's going to be okay, Bass. We can do this."

* * *

Three months and several frustrating towns later, Miles had to admit that he was stumped. He and Bass had taught Charlie well. She had disappeared just as effectively as they had at one time. It was obvious she wouldn't be found until she was ready.

The last town had been especially frustrating. Settling their horses in the public stable had been easy enough. Finding a place for them to sleep had proven more troublesome.

Heading straight to the bar, Bass had immediately started showing the patrons his drawing of Charlie and asking if they had seen her. Miles had hung back to gauge reactions to Bass's request.

Receiving one negative response after another, Bass finally slid into the booth across from Miles and immediately threw down three shots of some nasty rotgut whiskey.

"I don't understand how it can be that someone somewhere hasn't seen or heard about Charlie, Miles. No one can disappear like that unless something bad has happened."

"Quit worrying, Bass. I've been watching their reactions, and I'm pretty sure they're hiding something. I don't know what it is, but I'm guessing they know more than they're letting on about Charlie's whereabouts. You stay here. I'm going to see about getting us a room and maybe find someone who might be more willing to talk."

Nodding morosely, Bass poured himself another drink as Miles walked away.

Entering the hotel lobby across the street, Miles cheered silently as he saw an attractive female behind the registration desk.

Sauntering over, he gave her his patented 'get lucky' smile and asked if he could get a room for the night.

Looking him up and down and then leaning forward to show some cleavage, she smiled at him and beckoned him closer.

As he leaned in, she reached for his shirt and pulled him in until he could feel her breath on his lips. A quick stirring of his cock told him his luck might be about to turn for the better.

"No." she whispered as her lips almost ghosted over his.

Fidgeting a little from the tightness of his pants, Miles grinned at her. "No? Then where would you like me to sleep, sweetheart?" Reaching to pull her across the desk, he suddenly found his arms grabbed from behind by a very large male.

"Not only no, but hell no, _Uncle Miles_." The sarcasm rolled easily out of her mouth. "We know all about your search for Miss King. We also know she's your niece, and I've got to tell you – based on the things I've heard from other towns and from my good friend, 'Beau Hineman,'" she finger quoted while nodding to another person behind him, "you sound like one selfish prick. There's not a person here who is going to tell you anything. You and your friend can sleep in the stall with your horses and then you need to ride on out of here in the morning."

It wasn't often that Miles was at a loss for words, but this definitely qualified. How had things suddenly gone so wrong?

"Uh…I think there may be some kind of mistake." he began.

"Oh there's no mistake. The gentleman holding you is Harry Sinclair, brother of my best friend, Ellie, who also happens to be Frank Blanchard's secretary. I know all about the crap you've pulled. In fact, the whole town does. We wondered how long it would be before you showed up here."

Still trying to take it all in, Miles just stared at her.

"Listen, you haven't done anything to us but Charlie has done a lot of good things for this town, and we're not going to tell you anything. Just go on about your business and forget you ever came here."

Nodding at Harry to release his arms and holding up his arms to show he wasn't a threat, Miles found himself being escorted out the door and pushed in the direction of the street. Deciding now was an excellent time for discretion, he kept moving toward the bar where he found Bass about as shit-faced as Miles had ever seen him.

"Come on, Bass. Let's get out of here. We're in the stable tonight. No room at the inn and all that crap." Sighing, Miles grabbed the bottle as he guided Bass away from the booth and out the door. At least one of them would be lucky enough not to remember where they'd be sleeping this night.

* * *

"Bass, I know you don't want to hear this, but its decision time. We've been on the road for months and colder weather is right around the corner. "

"You're right, Miles. I don't want to talk about this. Charlie is still out there somewhere and I'm going to find her and bring her home."

After their experience in the last town, they had opted to stay outside of towns for a while to help slow word from traveling as to their whereabouts. Arguing as they broke camp that morning, Miles ran his fingers through his hair.

"Come on, Bass. You know as well as I do that we aren't going to find her. If there's one thing we've learned on this wild goose chase, it's that Charlie has grown into a better version of us. She has outmaneuvered us at every turn. She has people we've never even heard of singing her praises and refusing to tell us where she is. Think of what it took for her to earn that kind of loyalty from strangers. Every place we've been, every job she's had – you've seen the respect she's earned. She's learned from the best, and we have to accept that she is royally pissed at both of us."

"You think I don't know that, Miles? Jesus, we all owe her a huge apology for the way we've tried to make decisions for her. And neither one of us like to admit we're wrong. If you want to head back to Willoughby, I'm not stopping you, but I'm staying out here."

"Tell you what. I will go with you into one more town and see if we can find any trace of her. If we can't, I'll head back to Willoughby to check on things and see if anyone has heard from her. I can check on the little project you had Aaron working on, too."

* * *

Walking out of the local bar with a disgusted look on his face, Miles shook his head at Bass.

"If they know anything, nobody's talking. Let's face it, Bass. Charlie is winning this round."

Bass was looking out into a town square very similar to Willoughby's. It was a Saturday and a farmer's market was underway. Children playing tag; parents trying to keep track of their young…it was all eerily reminiscent of Willoughby on the day Charlie left.

Swallowing hard, Bass looked over at Miles. "I don't know, Miles. I just have this feeling that we're really close. I can't give up yet."

"I get it, brother. I really do. I got us a room in the local hotel for the night and will head out in the morning. In the meantime, let's head back over to the bar and…." Miles stopped talking.

"Yeah, I could use a drink. Let's go." Bass started to walk away, turning back when he realized Miles wasn't following him. "You coming?"

Miles was staring at the square, eyes narrowed a little as he tried to concentrate on something.

"Do you see her, Bass? That little girl? Isn't that the same one from your unveiling that day?" Without waiting for an answer, Miles started moving toward her.

"Hey, little girl. Do you remember me? I saw you in Willoughby."

"My name's not little girl, and I'm not supposed to talk to strangers. If you don't know my name, then I can't talk to you." Backing away from Miles, she started to turn toward her friends.

Bass had caught up with Miles by this time. Leaning down, he spoke softly to her. "Ruthie. Your name is Ruthie, right? I was in Willoughby when you saw Miss C."

Nodding, Ruthie looked at Bass. "I remember you. You painted her bottom on the side of the building. You're mean."

Squatting down next to her, Bass looked her straight in the eyes. "Ruthie, sometimes adults fight and do stupid things. I'm trying to find Miss C to tell her I'm sorry. I didn't mean to upset her, and I need to make things right. Have you seen her? Do you know where she is?"

Nodding, she motioned for Bass to come closer. Cupping her hand to his ear, she whispered, "I'm not supposed to tell."

Bass whispered back. "I can keep a secret. If you tell me where she is, I promise I won't tell anyone else except her Uncle Miles because he's been really worried about her, too."

Miles nodded at her. "It's true, Ruthie. I love her and I just want her to know that."

A minute passed while Ruthie thought about it. "If I ran away, my mommy and daddy would want to find me so I guess it's okay to tell you. She's teaching the other kids how to shoot a bow and arrow. I already passed my test so I got to leave early."

Miles ruffled Ruthie's hair. "Thanks, kid. You did good. And we won't tell Miss C how we found her so don't worry about that. Go play with your friends now."

Smiling, Ruthie ran back to her game of tag.

Bass was already moving away from the square when Miles turned around.

"Bass, wait. If she sees you, she's going to run again. I've got this. Why don't you head back to Willoughby and make sure Aaron's project is ready. I'll bring her home to you….I promise."

"I need to see her first, Miles. I need to know she's okay."

"I know I can't stop you, but you need to trust me on this. Do NOT let her see you." As Bass gave a very reluctant nod, Miles headed toward the school. "Okay then. Let's go get our girl."

* * *

Walking into the field next to the school, Miles took a second to watch Charlie as she worked with the children. Once Bass had seen her, it had taken all he had to persuade Bass to go back to Willoughby and let him convince her to come home. He still wasn't quite sure how he was going to do it.

As she helped a little boy hold his bow properly, Charlie felt a tingling that told her something was up. Trusting her instincts, she quickly turned around with the bow and arrow aimed at the intruder.

"Miles?"

"Hey kid. How's it going?"

"Go away, Miles. I'm not ready for you yet." With Charlie's bow still aimed at him, the children started to realize that their teacher was upset. Almost as one, they all turned with their bows now aimed at Miles, too.

Holding up his hands, he nodded to her pint sized supporters. "Uh, Charlie? It would be nice if you told them I'm one of the good guys. I really don't want to lose any body parts to poor aim."

Lowering her bow, Charlie looked at her class. "It's okay, everyone. You can put your bows down. This is my Uncle Miles and he's come to apologize to me for being a horse's ass." Giggles broke out as the children realized that their beloved Miss C had used a bad word.

"Miss C, you're not supposed to say that word!" one of the boys yelled.

Charlie nodded at the little boy. "You are absolutely right, Christian. I'm sorry. Tell you what, why don't we end here today. You guys did a great job. I'm going to tell your parents that I think you're ready to go hunting with them. Go on back to the square and enjoy the rest of your Saturday."

No sooner had the words left her mouth, the kids vanished and Charlie and Miles were alone in the field.

"Say whatever it is you think you need to say, Miles, and then head on back to Willoughby or wherever you're going." Glaring at him, Charlie crossed her arms and waited.

Staring back at this girl child who had grown into a truly kick ass woman, Miles searched for the words he knew she needed to hear.

"Okay, bug. You are absolutely right. I am and have been a horse's ass. Your mom and I just quit paying attention. If we hadn't, we would have seen that you had become an extremely skilled, self-sufficient young woman who didn't need any interference from us. You are more than capable of taking care of yourself, and you don't need any of our shit. I can't even believe you let me get away with sticking you with Bass and then making up that whole stupid story about a fake boyfriend just to shut your mom up. You must really love me." Miles smiled at her, trying to win her over.

"So you freely admit that you're an idiot and my mom is an overbearing, manipulative, controlling...person... who can't be happy unless she's running everyone else's lives?" Charlie asked.

Giving her a slow nod, Miles added, "Sometimes I think I've let her chop off my balls and she only gives them back to me if she needs General Matheson for something…Crap, don't tell her I said that!" Charlie just gave him an evil grin as if she was filing the information away for future reference.

Miles visibly swallowed, knowing that statement would come back to haunt him. "I'm not going to try to force you to come home. I'm asking…no, I'm begging you to consider it. I miss you, Charlie. You are the one truly good thing in my life, and nothing is right when you're not there. If Bass were here, he would tell you the same thing."

Charlie had started to soften just a little at Miles' impassioned speech, but at the mention of Bass's name, she stopped. "So you're here, Miles. Where is Bass? If he really wanted to say the same thing, why isn't he with you? Why are you the only one here? I wouldn't expect my mom to be searching, but I thought Bass would make some kind of an effort. He definitely owes me an apology."

"Wait a minute, Charlie. You've got this all wrong. I was willing to let you disappear for a while to sort things out. Bass is the one who was out of his mind with worry. I've never seen him like that…not since Shelley. Shit…again, forget I said that. I need to get some kind of filter between my mouth and brain."

Charlie wasn't saying anything, but she was definitely paying attention so Miles continued. "Bass is the one who insisted that he was going to look for you and he wasn't going back to Willoughby until he found you and could bring you home. We've been on the road for months looking for you. I'm sure you'll be happy to know that you have a lot of people loyal to you which made them all big pains in the ass as far as we were concerned. No one would give us any information. I can't tell you how many wild goose chases we went on. It's only luck that brought us here today…well, that and Bass with his stupid 'feeling' that you were nearby."

Charlie turned and calmly began to pack away her weapons. Saying not a word, she lifted everything and began to head back into town.

"Well, aren't you going to say anything?" Miles almost whined his question.

"You've given me some things to think about, Miles. I'll let you know my decision in the morning."

"I'm staying at the hotel in town. How about I buy you breakfast?" Nodding her head in agreement, Charlie picked up her pace to give herself room to think. Raising his voice a little to be heard as she got further away, Miles said, "Charlie, promise me you're not going to run tonight. Please." A bit of a stutter step in her gait as if that's what she was thinking, and then Charlie raised her hand in acknowledgement as she left him behind.


	11. Chapter 11

After a restless night tossing and turning, Miles headed downstairs eager to see if Charlie would show up. When the door finally opened and she stepped in, he felt a palpable relief and an easing of the tension in his chest.

"Morning, kid."

"Hi, Miles. I'm starving. They do great pancakes here. Let's eat."

Knowing better than to push her, Miles waited through the entire meal until Charlie finally put her napkin down and pushed her chair back a bit from the table.

Looking at her expectantly, he waited.

"I've given this a lot of thought, Miles. This town and these people have been good to me. I feel at home, and I know they want me to stay permanently. I have a place here, and they trust me. Nobody questions me or tries to make me feel like I'm incapable of making decisions." At that, Miles started a little, not having realized exactly how their efforts to help had appeared to Charlie.

Knowing that her speech so far didn't bode well for a return to Willoughby, Miles waited for her to finish saying her piece.

"I love you and Grandpa…and Aaron… and Bass, and I miss you when I don't get to see you. But I don't need any of you to be successful, Miles. Can you understand that? I am tired of my mom trying to fit me into whatever warped world she has concocted in her mind, and I'm tired of you and everyone else not standing up to her. It's awfully lonely when you're the only one out there on that limb willing to fight back. I can't go back to that. I won't let myself be drained dry by the selfish narcissist that is my mother. And I don't want to have to watch the people I care about get sucked dry by her, either."

As she talked, Miles began to look more and more defeated. They were all guilty of everything she was saying and it wasn't his place to share the one thing he knew would probably get her to return to Willoughby. Nope, genius that he was, he had actually sent Bass away.

"So here are my terms."

"Wait, what? You're coming back with me?" Miles suddenly felt like he could breathe again.

"I didn't say that. You need to listen and see if you agree with what I'm about to say. First, I have a contract with the people of this town to teach their children basic weaponry and self-defense skills. I'm halfway through their training, and I never leave a job undone. Now, if you wanted to stay and help me, we could divide the kids into two classes and finish up sooner, but that's up to you. We can talk more about that after you hear the rest."

"Never again will I be treated like I don't have two brain cells to rub together. I am tired of having to prove myself to you and everyone else and I am done trying. You might be older and have a penis, but that doesn't make you smarter or better than me. And I can only think of one way to make sure no one reverts to their old ways if I come back."

Miles started to interrupt, but Charlie held up her hand to stop him.

"I don't want to see my mom. I don't even want to know she exists for the first six months I'm back in town. I don't want her asking about me. I don't want people in town spying on me to tell her what I'm doing. If Grandpa, you or Aaron can't keep your mouths shut when it comes to me, then I don't want to see you, either."

Stunned at her ferociousness and yet impressed with her strength, Miles swallowed hard before answering.

"Done. I know we can live by those rules…well, Gene may have some problems at first, but he'll probably come around., and I'm pretty sure Aaron is going to be just fine with everything. What about Bass? You didn't include him in your rules?"

A fleeting look of hurt passed over Charlie's face. If he hadn't been looking right at her, he wouldn't have seen it.

"I'm sure Bass is long gone now that he has your word that I am safe and sound. He was only feeling guilty about parading my ass in public for the whole world to see. No doubt he's on to his next conquest so I don't need to make any rules for him. Besides, even if he were still there, he hates Mom even more than I do so that wouldn't have been a problem."

"Charlie, I am always on your side. I want to make sure you know that, kid. I am guaranteeing you a minimum of a 6 month Rachel-free zone if you come home with me, and I will even help you train the rugrats…although you know I 'm not good with kids and I can't guarantee how their parents are going to react when they hear I'm helping you." Extending his hand out across the table, Miles waited for Charlie's move.

Holding his breath as Charlie hesitated a few seconds, he looked at her. Finally, stretching her hand to take his, she nodded.

"I appreciate you saying you can guarantee a Mom-free zone for me, but I think we both know that's going to be impossible. I'm sure I will run into her occasionally in town. Just try and keep her away from me as much as you can. If you can promise that, then I'll come back with you as soon as we finish up the training." Smiling and nodding, Miles started to pull his hand away but Charlie gripped it harder.

"And know this, Miles. If she tries to pull any kind of major shit again, I am leaving for good and nothing you say will get me back there. Please make sure she understands that."

Miles nodded and pushed back his chair. "Let's get busy so we can get you home."

* * *

It took a lot to truly scare Miles Matheson and he could count on one hand the times where he had actually been scared shitless. This might qualify. Looking at the suspicious faces staring back at him, Miles felt humbled for one of the few times in his life. It wasn't the parents who hadn't accepted his new role; they had been open to it once Charlie talked to them. Nope, it was the group of kids standing in front of him and looking at him like they'd be happy to fricassee him on a spit. He could feel little beads of sweat starting to form at his hairline.

Allowing herself a grin at Miles' obvious discomfort, Charlie looked out at her students.

"Hi, everyone. I am so excited to introduce you to someone very special to me. For the rest of our time together, my Uncle Miles is going to be helping me teach you. You might not know much about him," a few snickers and snorts were immediately heard causing Miles to sweat a little more, "but he taught me everything I know and he has offered to help me so you're going to be learning from one of the best. Miles, do you want to say anything?"

Giving Charlie a pained look, Miles turned to fully face his new class. Before he could even open his mouth, the group started shouting out questions.

"What are we supposed to call you?"

"My dad said you're a butcher, but you don't look like one to me. Do you have a store we can go to?"

"Are you really Miss C's uncle? You look too old to teach us how to hunt."

"Why do you look so mad? You're supposed to be nice to us 'cause we're kids."

As Miles stood there struggling to find something to say, Charlie leaned over giggling and whispered in his ear, "Put on your big girl panties, Miles. It's going to be a bumpy ride!"

Holding up her hands to stop the onslaught of questions, the group quieted immediately.

"Okay, you guys, give him a break. He's really new to this. Why don't you call him Mr. Miles? We're going to divide up into two groups. One group will go with Mr. Miles to learn self-defense and the other will stay with me to practice our hunting skills. And then we'll switch groups so everyone will have a chance to practice with both of us. Any questions? No? Okay then let's split up."

Dividing the group in half, Charlie patted Miles on the shoulder, mouthed 'good luck' and then took her charges to the field to practice with their bows and arrows.

Coming back a few hours later, Charlie was surprised to hear laughter coming from the area where Miles' group was practicing. Walking into the clearing, she found Miles flat on his back with a separate child holding down each limb and another one sitting on his stomach.

Seeing Charlie's group coming back, several of Miles' group ran toward them.

"Miss C, can we stay with Mr. Miles? He's a lot of fun!"

A bit bemused, Charlie looked over to where Miles was slowly untangling himself from his captors and brushing off his clothing.

"You _want_ to stay with Mr. Miles? "

A chorus of yes's responded to her question.

Grinning at her, Miles laughed. "I guess we know who their favorite teacher is now!"

Suspicious of what he might have done to sway their opinions, Charlie knew she'd need to tread carefully to keep everyone's interest.

"I tell you what. Let's go ahead and switch this afternoon like we planned. Tomorrow, we'll do a skills test first. If you pass your hunting skills test, then you can spend the rest of the week with Mr. Miles. If you don't pass, then you have to spend half the day with me and half the day with him…and no complaining. When everyone passes both classes, we'll have a party to celebrate. How does that sound?"

* * *

Three weeks later, everyone had passed their skills tests for both classes and the graduation party was in full swing in the town square. Miles was surrounded by children clamoring for his attention as Charlie watched from a table.

Turning to one of the parents, Charlie said, "I don't get it. He has never been around kids and he's always been awkward with people. How the heck did he win them over?"

Laughing, the woman shook her head. "Who knows what goes on in the minds of children, Charlie? For all we know, he could have bribed them with something. In the end, though, we all got what we wanted out of the deal and our little ones are much better prepared to survive in this world. I think everyone will agree with me when I say we're really going to miss you."

"I'm going to miss you guys, too. I feel more at home here sometimes than I do in Willoughby, but it's time for me to go back and take care of some things. We're leaving early in the morning so I'd better go say my good byes now."

Charlie left the table to a chorus of good wishes, hugs, and exhortations to keep in touch. Heading over to her students, she found herself pulled into the pile surrounding Miles. As they all hugged her, she looked over at Miles, surprised to see a little emotion on his face.

"Um….Miles, are you okay?"

"What? Yeah, sure. Just had a little dust in my eye from the dirt these rugrats are kicking up."

Ruthie came over with tears in her eyes and pulled Charlie out of the group.

"I'm really going to miss you, Miss C. Will you promise to come visit sometime?"

Bending down to hug her, Charlie replied. "Of course, I will. You're an important part of my life, Ruthie. You're like my little sister. We can write to each other, and I'll come visit. Maybe your parents can bring you to Willoughby again."

Nodding, Ruthie smiled and hugged her tight once more, then turned to go to Miles.

Seeing her coming his way, Miles knelt down. Holding his arms out, he pulled Ruthie in for a hug and whispered in her ear.

"You saved me, kiddo. Thanks for helping me get all the kids on my side that first day of class. I don't know what you said to them, but I couldn't have done it without you. You let me know if you ever need help with anything."

Giving him a serious look, Ruthie put her hands on either side of his face.

"Miss C told me one time that she didn't have a daddy anymore and you were like her daddy now. We have to take care of our mommies and daddies so I made sure everyone knew you were special. Thanks for being my teacher, Mr. Miles. You're really good." And with that, Ruthie leaned in and gave Miles a sloppy wet kiss before running off to play.

Bemused, he glanced up to see Charlie extending a hand to help him stand. Grabbing it, he stood and then pulled her into a bear hug.

"I know I never say it, but I love you, Charlie. I'm a better person because of you. Hell, kids even like me now! What's that all about?"

Trying to pull back a bit, Miles was startled when Charlie held on. Her voice muffled by his chest, he could barely make out the words she was saying. "I love you, too, Miles."

As they separated, Miles winked at Charlie. "Okay, enough of the mushy stuff." Holding out his arm, he continued. "It's time for us to go home."


	12. Chapter 12

Charlie opened the door to her house. It had been a good trip back to Willoughby. She and Miles had used the time to talk about a lot of things and, coupled with their time spent training others, they had become even closer. He still loved her as his niece, but he accepted her as a woman. She understood more about the things that had shaped his life and the man he had become. She felt as if they'd turned some kind of corner in their relationship.

Dropping her bag at the door, Miles leaned in and hugged her. "Remember what I said. I am always on your side, Charlie. I want you to know that. You need to do whatever makes you happy, and I'll support you."

Looking into his eyes, Charlie was startled by the depth of emotion there. "Are you okay, Miles? Is there something you haven't told me?"

"No, no. Don't panic. I just want you to be open to possibilities and know that sometimes it's okay to think with your heart and not your head."

Hugging him back, Charlie held on for a few extra seconds. "I know you always have my back. I won't forget that. Now, let me see what kind of job Aaron did taking care of my house. First order of business is a bath in my own tub with my own soaps. I've really missed that. Thank goodness it was warm today so I don't have to heat any water."

Laughing, Miles took a step back. "Enjoy, kiddo. I know Aaron was keeping food stocked in case you showed up so you should be good for a couple of days. I'll see you whenever you surface."

Giving him another weird look at his turn of phrase, Charlie stepped back into the house and headed up to her bathroom lighting a candle as dusk descended.

"God bless, Aaron," she thought. The tub was shiny clean and ready to go with her soaps displayed for easy selection, more scented candles for her to light, and some clean towels in the cabinet. Filling the tub and crawling in, Charlie let the heat of the water seep into her pores and relax her as she contemplated what would happen when people found out she was back.

In particular, she wondered about Bass. Would he even care that she'd returned? It was difficult not to think of him, and that was especially true here in the tub where she'd found him. The memory was etched on her brain. Thoughts of Bass consumed her even as the warm fragrant water soothed her aching muscles…

Jerking awake, Charlie realized she had fallen asleep in the tub and the water had cooled. Standing up and reaching for a towel, something caught Charlie's eye out the window. Stepping out of the tub and looking more closely, she could see a flickering light coming from the hunting stand out in her woods.

"Oh no, you don't, whoever you are." Heading into her bedroom, Charlie didn't bother to dry off completely, choosing instead to just throw on a tank top and her new favorite sweat pants. If she was going to kick someone's ass, she needed to be comfortable doing it.

Heading into the woods with a small knife clutched firmly in one hand, Charlie slowed her pace for a stealthy entrance. When she arrived at the hunting stand, she was surprised to see that it had been completely remodeled. The once rickety platform in the trees had been transformed into a full blown tree house complete with curtains in the windows and a sturdy ladder going up into an entrance that appeared to have been fortified.

"Unbelievable." Charlie thought as she started to head up the ladder. "Someone has a lot of nerve to think they can move in on my land just because I'm not here."

Slowly putting the top of her head into the opening in the floor, Charlie looked around. Quietly scanning the area at first and seeing no one, Charlie climbed all the way in. Stunned to see a bed complete with sheets and pillows as well as what looked to be a picnic basket open and filled with food, Charlie was suddenly grabbed from behind and thrust face first up against the wall with a hard body now holding her in place.

The only thing that saved him from getting a knife in the balls was the fact that Charlie knew who this man was before he breathed a word. Her body responded to his touch in a way that was familiar and new at the same time. Being in his presence again felt like coming home, not that she would let him in on that secret right away. She let out a breath she didn't even know she'd been holding as his hands roamed urgently over her arms, holding them in place. "Bass," she said, her voice coming out in a gasp.

"Don't ever do that to me again, Charlotte. Don't you ever run away from me. I will always find you." A very aroused Bass whispered in her ear even as his left hand worked its way from her hip up to palm her breast and his right arm snaked down to the waist band of her pants. Nuzzling her neck and trailing his tongue down to her shoulder, Bass was on a mission. "You belong to me."

Shocked that Bass was here, and quivering with a surprising need that suddenly overwhelmed her, Charlie attempted to escape his hold using every move Miles had taught her while trying to ignore the fires igniting all of her nerve endings. Luckily for him, Bass knew those same moves and countered every time.

"Give up yet? You know you're mine. Quit fighting me." Standing still, Charlie suddenly went completely limp, catching Bass off guard and falling toward the floor. Having not anticipated that particular move, Bass let her escape…for now.

"I don't belong to anyone, you ass, and especially not to you!"

Moving to the other side of her new tree house, Charlie put space between them as she tried to regain some semblance of control.

"I beg to differ, Charlotte. Shall we count the ways? First, there is the matter of your fake name. C King, wasn't it? How did you happen to come up with that, hmmm? You slept with the wrong Monroe back in New Vegas and you know it. I think you were trying to right a wrong and admit what you really wanted even then. "

Bass took a step toward her side of the room as Charlie took a step back into the wall.

"Secondly, have you ever had a partner on the road or at home like me? It's pretty unusual to be that in sync with someone. You might not know how rare that is, but I do. The closest I've ever come is Miles, and even he and I don't operate on the same wavelength as you and I. We are in each other's head whether you admit it or not. And let's not forget the big "M" in the room. Mother Nature branded you just for me. You may have burned off the brand on your arm, but you can't do that with the one on your ass."

As she tried to formulate a reply, Bass moved again and was suddenly right in front of her.

"Nice tank top, Charlotte. No bra? Looking down and back up, he smiled. "At least part of you is very happy to see me." Staring into her eyes, Bass moved his hands to her waist as she gasped a tiny bit at his touch.

"No response? That's not like you. Tell me to stop." Holding her gently, he kissed her eyelids before moving his lips to hers. His kiss was tentative at first but when she didn't pull away, he deepened the touch, exploring her mouth with his tongue. She tried to hold back, but his desire fueled her own and soon she couldn't help but respond. She groaned into his mouth as his hands moved up to cup her breasts and he inserted his leg between her thighs.

"Tell me you don't want this." He nibbled the edge of her lip as he teased her nipples even further into small, hard peaks and his leg rubbed a rhythmic pattern on her rapidly dampening pussy.

"Tell me I've totally misread this thing between us….because if you don't stop me, you and I have a date with that bed over there, and we're not coming out until we're so sore, we have to hold each other up to walk. And then, I'm going to take you inside, put you into your bathtub, and wash you everywhere. There isn't going to be an inch of your body that doesn't belong to me, and there's not going to be an inch of my body that doesn't belong to you." His hands reached behind her and pulled her body more fully into his.

Shuddering, Charlie could barely stand as Bass stroked her. She wanted to fight...didn't want to give in too easily… but it felt like he was everywhere, and her body was on overload. Overwhelmed with need and feeling his erection prodding into her belly, Charlie finally understood what Miles meant when he told her to think with her heart instead of her head.

Throwing her arms around his neck and her legs around his waist, she arched into him. "Please…Bass."

Needing no other invitation, Bass slammed his mouth onto hers as he moved them to the bed. Climbing onto it, he ripped Charlie's tank from her body and pulled her to him as she frantically worked to get his shirt off. Both dazed with the freedom to finally be able to feel and taste each other, their first touch of skin to skin contact brought them right to the edge. Quickly removing the rest of their clothing increased the longing to a fever pitch.

"I don't think I can wait, Charlie. I need to be inside you now." Lining himself up at her entrance, Bass looked down at her, waiting, as his fingers confirmed that she was more than ready for him.

"Yes, Bass…now…" she panted as he thrust into her.

There was no finesse involved. It was just two bodies after a long drought of starving for the other one – craving what they hadn't been ready for until today. Unable to look away and finding the unison they had always had, the only sound in the room was harsh, labored breathing as they worked toward a physical culmination of feelings they had long kept hidden.

"Jesus, Charlie…it's too fast…I'm sorry…I can't…" Unable to finish a single thought, Bass tried to pull out only to be firmly held in place by Charlie.

"You're mine, too, Bass. I want this…want you."

Shuddering with a primal urge to mark her, Bass spilled himself inside her womb, shaking with one of the most intense orgasms he had ever experienced.

With his seed filling her, Charlie felt the spasms of her own orgasm pulling him in even further, trapping his cock so deep inside that neither one was sure where one body ended and the other began.

Melding their mouths together, Bass collapsed on top of her.

"This wasn't quite what I had in mind when I decided to seduce you," he smiled against her lips when he could talk again. Trying to lift himself off, she stopped him.

"Do you have someplace else you need to be after you've just fucked me silly?" Charlie pulled him back down to her.

"Are you okay? That wasn't my proudest moment." Bass asked as he pulled her closer, snuggling her body into his, a bit worried both that he hadn't really given her much of a choice and that it definitely had not been his best performance.

Giggling a bit, Charlie looked up at him. "Which part? The part where you gave me the best orgasm of my life or the part where I overpowered you and forced you to come inside me?"

Amazed at the ease of their conversation and feeling happier and more content than he had in a long time, Bass smiled down at her.

"Not to look a gift horse in the mouth, Charlie, but why'd you give in so easily? I expected a little more resistance."

Running her fingers down his back to cup his ass and keep a certain hardening member closer to her, Charlie sighed while trying to find the words to explain.

"I've had a lot of time to think since I left Willoughby and spending that extra time with Miles helped me understand some things. I had already decided to come back, so when Miles said it was okay to follow my heart..." Charlie looked up at the man who had become so much a part of her life. "I think he figured out why I ran. It's almost like he was giving his blessing, Bass."

"I think he was. He's the one who kept me grounded and helped me look for you. I went a bit crazy when I realized you had bolted and it was my fault. He…he said he hadn't seen me like this since Shelley. He even knew I asked Aaron to work on converting your hunting stand to a tree house, and he was okay with it."

"You know, we still have a lot to talk about," Charlie said as she helped Bass flip them over putting her on top and in the perfect position for a long ride.

"Mmm hmmm." Bass sucked in a mouthful of nipple as she leaned over him even as his fingers started to penetrate her core. One finger, then two, building a rhythm as she began to writhe above him.

Starting to gasp a little for air, Charlie felt compelled to continue. "But Miles did say… he'd see me when I… surfaced in a…couple of days… so… I'm thinking…shit, Bass…that feels so good" as he flicked into her bundle of nerves setting off a spasm of pleasure around his very talented fingers that eventually had her falling forward onto his chest.

Lifting her up to slide her down on his now very hard cock, Bass grinned.

"Plenty of time for talking, Charlotte. I'm not going anywhere. You're stuck with me."

 **Epilogue**

Four days after dropping Charlie off at her house, Miles was back on her porch banging at the front door.

"Charlie, are you in there? Open up. Are you okay?"

After several minutes with no answer, Miles yelled, "I am going to break this door down in one minute unless someone comes and lets me in."

Picking up a rocking chair, Miles started to swing it as the door finally flew open and a grinning Bass stood back inviting his brother in.

"What the fuck, Bass? It's been four days. I haven't heard anything from either of you. You think I might be worried?"

"We were taking your advice, Miles." Charlie said as she strolled down the stairs looking thoroughly debauched and inserted her hand into Bass's. At his confused look, she continued. "We were thinking with our hearts and keeping our stupid to a minimum."

"Wait…so this thing between you two is really happening?" Waving his hand back and forth at both of them, a visibly agitated Miles was having trouble taking it all in.

"What exactly are your intentions with this?" he glared at Bass.

Looking at each other, Bass and Charlie held an entire conversation without saying a word. Then, to appease Miles…

"Charlie, do you…."

"I do. Bass, do you…."

"I do, too."

Pulling her into a searing kiss, Bass and Charlie looked up only after a red-faced Miles cleared his throat several times and then said, "Goddamn it, could you guys stop for two seconds?"

"Why are you still here, Miles?" Charlie asked.

Pulling Charlie with him, Bass continued, "I think we just made our intentions pretty clear. The honeymoon has started!"

"Excuse me? I did not just hear that." Miles groaned.

As they headed toward the stairs, Charlie sassily blew Miles kiss. "Send more food and lock up on your way out!"

"Who are you people and what have you done with my niece and brother?" he grumbled as they disappeared up the stairs.

Stomping back onto the porch and slamming the door behind him for good measure, Miles allowed a small grin to cross his face. The two people he loved most in the world had finally found each other...with a little help. Feeling pretty happy with himself, he sauntered down the steps and headed home under a bright, Willoughby moon.

* * *

A/N: So there it is. I hope you enjoyed my first multi-chapter fic. I never realized how important reviews are to an author so many thanks to everyone who took the time to leave a review or PM me with supportive words. And again, much appreciation and gratitude to Lemon for everything. You rock!


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